Royal Train Steam hauled twice in July within 10 days

Published 23rd July 2012

Royal Train steam-hauled twice in July for HM The Queen and HRH Prince of Wales respectively

The Royal Train was due to be steam hauled twice in quick succession in July 2012 as part of the Jubilee Tour. The locomotive that sounded its whistle to start the Thames Pageant on June 3 has now hauled The Royal Train with HM The Queen and Prince Philip on board.

No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth arrived at Newport South Wales at 0630am after leaving Tyseley several hours earlier and then pulled The Royal Train to Hereford on July 11. The Queen disembarked to visit Hereford Cathedral while the engine took the train to Worcester for servicing.

Mystery Tour for Loco Volunteers

This was all part of a mystery tour for the locomotive’s voluntary support crew who were not told what the train was or where they were going! It all started with Clive Mojonnier’s grandson, Joshua, aged 12 who wrote last year to Buckingham Palace suggesting his granddads engine should pull the Royal Train in the Jubilee year.

This set off a chain of events ending up with him being presented to HM The Queen at Kemble station. Mr Mojonier, The Chairman of the Princess Royal Locomotive Trust was also presented to HM The Queen who travelled for a second leg on the train from Worcester to Oxford.

It is thought that this was the longest steam hauled Royal Train journey the Queen has undertaken in over 40 years covering around 140 miles. The engine managed 466 miles in all including positioning moves.

Tornado to Royally follow

New build A1 No. 60163 Tornado is also to pull The Royal Train on July 23rd when HRH The Prince of Wales will travel to Northumberland.

The visit is to highlighting small family businesses and community volunteering as part of The Prince of Wales’s first ever visit to the historic Northumberland coast.

He is staying as a guest of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland at Alnwick Castle and will spend Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th July visiting a number of coastal locations including Warkworth, Amble, Lindisfarne, Bamburgh and Seahouses.

The Prince’s visit begins on Monday 23rd July at Alnmouth, where he will arrive by The Royal Train hauled by Tornado and be greeted by the Duchess of Northumberland, who is the Lord Lieutenant of the county.

Previous Royal Duties

Tornado was built over 18 years by The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, a registered charity, and named by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on 19th February 2009 at York station. Tornado then hauled The Royal Train with Their Royal Highnesses on board from York to Leeds.

On 4th February 2010 Tornado was once again called upon to haul the Royal Train, this time taking Their Royal Highnesses to the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Manchester as part of a series of engagements they were undertaking in Greater Manchester.

Tornado’s appointment with HRH The Prince of Wales on 23rd July will be the third time that Tornado has hauled The Royal Train, a record in the post-steam era on Britain’s railways.

New Livery

Tornado will be wearing her current livery of British Railways Brunswick Green for the first time on The Royal Train and carrying the same London & South Western Railway headboard with The Prince of Wales feathers that she wore during her naming ceremony. The headboard has been kindly lent for the occasion by the National Railway Museum, York.

Mark Allatt, chairman of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, said, “The Trust and all of its supporters are deeply honoured that His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, who named Tornado in 2009, has once again chosen to travel on The Royal Train hauled by Tornado.

Born to be Royal

The occasion will see Tornado passing close to her birthplace in Darlington and then on to Edinburgh after His Royal Highness leaves the train at Alnmouth. This honour is recognition of the shared vision and determination of all of those who worked so hard over 19 years to bring Tornado into being and are now doing the same to keep her operating on the main line.”

The Trust will present HRH The Prince of Wales with a Hornby model of Tornado in Brunswick Green and carrying The Prince of Wales feathers headboard accompanied by two Royal Train coaches during the day.

Elizabethan Railtour

Following her appointment with HRH The Prince of Wales Tornado will resume schedule of main line tours appropriately with ‘The Elizabethan’ express from Edinburgh Waverley to London King’s Cross on Wednesday 25th July 2012.

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